Albert Pike

1809-1891 / USA

Farewell To New England

Farewell to thee, New England!
Farewell to thee and thine!
Good-bye to leafy Newbury,
And Rowley's hills of pine!

Farewell to thee, brave Merrimac!
Good-by! old heart of blue!
May I but find, returning,
That all, like thee, are true!

Farewell to thee, old Ocean!
Gray father of mad waves!
Whose surge with constant motion
Against the granite raves.

Farewell to thee, old Ocean!
I shall see thy face once more,
And watch thy mighty waves again,
Along my own bright shore.

Farewell the White Hill's summer snow,
Ascutney's cone of green!
Farewell Monadnock's regal glow,
Old Holyoke's emerald sheen.

Farewell gray hills, broad lakes, sweet dells,
Green fields, trout-peopled brooks!
Farewell the old familiar bells!
Good-bye to home and books!

Good-bye to all! To friend and foe!
Few foes I leave behind; I bid to all, before I go,
A long farewell and kind.

Proud of thee am I, noble land!
Home of the fair and brave!
Thy motto evermore should stand,
'Honor, or honor's grave!'

Whether I am on ocean tossed,
Or hunt where the wild-deer run,
Still shall it be my proudest boast,
That I'm New England's son.

So a health to thee, New England!
In a parting cup of wine!
Farewell to leafy Newbury,
And Rowley's woods of Pine!
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